


Anger, Resentment, and Misunderstandings

by Texeoghea



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet, Crows, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Riley is also there for like five sentences, its just not shown here, kind of, lots of crows - Freeform, they're gonna be okay, this episode on "jonathan and crow are a hot mess and run away from their problems", yup they're different again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 12:31:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11828805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texeoghea/pseuds/Texeoghea
Summary: Eddie loves Jon, but does he love Crow?





	Anger, Resentment, and Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> a 5 times + 1 thing, tying in to the 4th chapter of Year Of Beginnings. A bit of an inside look as to what was going on there in Edward and Jon/Crow's view.

**1\. (shoving)**

“Hey Jon? Do you know wh- HEY!” Edward was cut off from his question by Jonathan shoving him away from him, falling onto the bed. “Jon, what the hell?” The man growled, but said nothing, instead walking out of the room. Edward heart the door to the roof shut moments later. “What the fuck was that about?” Edward muttered to himself, and then got up. He had better things to do than wonder about Jon’s weird tendencies. Later, Jon would come back in, kiss his head, and apologize, but not give any explanation. And that was fine.

**2\. (walking out randomly)**

Jonathan kept walking out randomly during conversations, putting on his costume and going out without a word, and it was pissing Edward off. Sometimes he seemed to either want to hear what Edward had to say or at least tolerate his ramblings, but just walking out during a rant? Unheard of. If he had been one of Edward’s lackeys, he’d be dead by now. When he gets back, Edward questions him angrily, but Jon just shakes his head and goes to wash the blood off of himself, not saying a word. This was still fine, but pretty annoying.

**3\. (holing themselves up in a room and not coming out)**

Jonathan hadn’t come out of their room the whole day. Edward was sure he wasn’t even asleep, and if he was just gonna mope he could do it while working. “Jonathan, are you awake?” He asked, opening the door. Jon was curled up under the sheets, and his head turned. “Go away.” Edward huffed. “You know, I have had it just about up to here with all of this mess. What is wrong with you? A-” He was cut off by Jon leaping up and hissing loudly at him, startling Edward enough to fall back out of the room. “GO! AWAY!” Jonathan yelled, louder this time. Edward crawled back, eyes wide, as Jonathan got out of the bed and slammed the door shut. He rushed away, just in time to miss the sobs coming from the room. This is getting less fine.

**4\. (getting more physical)**

This was no longer fine. No longer fine at all, Eddie wasn’t sure what he was even thinking, since when had Jonathan been _fine?_ He should’ve known that something like this was going to happen- that’s what he got for getting into a relationship with a mystery. But it didn’t mean the guy had the rights to slap him. Because that’s exactly what he had done- slap him. He had simply called Jon’s name to get his attention, and the man had whirled around and backhanded him. Hard, too. It hurt pretty bad. Then, he had looked alarmed and concerned for a second before looking angry, and had climbed up to the roof again, through the window this time. Wow. “What the fuck is wrong with him? I’m missing something big here. I don’t like it when i’m missing something big,” Edward growled. It seemed like he was going to have to do some research… but seriously, was slapping him really necessary? Oh, the poor kid, too. He was so worried about him. It was time to do something about this mess.

**5\. (revelations)**

Eddie had finally found it. Jonathan’s original file for the Asylum, when he first became a patient. It had been altered and written over and scribbled out, but Edward had found a clean copy of the original. “Alright, Jonathan. Time to dig up what you’ve been hiding,” Edward mutters to himself over his cup of hot chocolate. There were a few pages, the paragraphs long, but Edward was nothing if not overly stubborn, and read it all. His heart sank lower and lower as he read. Dissociative Identity Disorder… Scarecrow… Easily angered if ignored… This was really something they should’ve talked about earlier. They needed to talk more. This was an important thing for Eddie to know. Although, with the way he had seen Jonathan and Scarecrow acting, it seemed more like there was something else going on. Possession? Maybe. Jonathan had talked about Crow before, briefly- he was immortal, and had appeared to Jon when he was young, helped him get revenge. That was all that Eddie had heard. “Whatcha readin, dad?” A voice sounded from behind. Eddie turned, and saw Riley standing next to him, holding his Raichu plush. “I’m doing research, buddy. Nothing to worry about.”

“...is it about Papa?” The boy asked quietly. Damn he was smart. Eddie sighed and put the papers and mug down, lifting the kid into his lap. “Yes, it is. Listen, Riley, Jon and I are having a bit of a rough time right now, and i’m trying to fix it, okay? Jon has a tendency to stop talking and run away instead of expressing his feelings, which makes communication a bit difficult, but i’m gonna fix it. There’s nothing for you to worry about,” Eddie smiled at the boy, who smiled back. “That’s good, because Crow wants you to come up to the roof.” Oh.

**(+1) (arguments, resolved)**

Edward didn’t really like being on the roof. It was pretty high up, and also there were so many crows. Too many. More than a normal amount to be in a murder, he was sure. There had to be a hundred or more hanging out up here in their nests. He knew a few of them, but they all knew him. The ones on the ground hopped away from his path, and one fluttered up to rest on his shoulder and tug at his hair. Nightmare, he remembered. The bird had a chip in his beak from the one time Joker blew him up. “Hello, there,” Edward greeted, lifting a hand to pet the bird. Jonathan was sitting on the edge of the roof, most of the crows congregated around him, and turned his head at Edward’s voice. “ **Hello, Eddie,** ” He said, maybe for the first time in a while. His voice was gravelly, scratchy, like he hadn’t drank water in a while. He probably hadn’t. “Hey,” Edward said, cutting himself off before he said ‘Jon’ again. This was progress, and he didn’t want to ruin that. “ **Sit down.** ” A hand waved next to him, and the crows on that side moved away, leaving room for him to sit. Edward reluctantly did so, his legs dangling over the edge like the other man’s. “ **You found the paper.** ” The man who might’ve been Jon, and might not’ve, said. Edward nodded. “I did.”

“ **It’s wrong.** ”

“I had guessed as much.”

“ **Do you want to hear the truth?** ” Amber eyes turned to stare at Edward. His eyes had most definitely not been amber before. Edward nodded. Of course he did. “ **I’m not Jon,** ” The man said quietly, eyes turning away and sweeping over the city. “ **So you can stop calling me that. Jonny has been tired lately, he’s been running himself ragged, so i’ve been doing everything, but…** ” He bared his teeth and growled. “ **Do you know how hard it is to do things and not get recognition, Eddie?** ” He hissed. His voice had a tone in it, but Ed couldn’t fully figure out what it was. “Yes, I do,” Edward replied, still not fully looking at him. “ **I’m not Jonny. I’m Scarecrow. But you keep, keep calling me that, like it’s going to bring him back, like it’s going to- to _save_ him.** ” He was visibly upset now, his face scrunched up and his nails digging into the cement. “ **He doesn’t need you,** ” Scarecrow growled. “ **He doesn’t need anyone but me. And I don’t need you either, and you keep calling me the wrong thing, acting like you care. You don’t care about me, you care about HIM. You care about how _he_ feels, because you love _him_. You don’t love me. Nobody ever has.** ” Edward might be crying, and he thinks Scarecrow might be too. “ **But you don’t ever get the hint, do you. You never understand. I have to spell it out for you.** ” He stood up suddenly, startling Edward, who fell back off the edge and onto the flat surface of the roof. His eyes widened as Scarecrow loomed over him. “ **You should leave. It’d be best for everyone if you just left,** ” He snarled, and yes he was definitely crying. “Wh- what? Why?” Eddie asked, shocked more than insulted. “ **I’ve seen how much you love him!** ” Scarecrow yelled. “ **It’s not fair! Why can’t you just love _me,_ too?!** ” The crows had gathered around him, spiraling above his head, perching on and around him, and cawing. It was most definitely not natural and Eddie was definitely going to have to do research on the effect Scarecrow had on animals, but later. “Crow, i’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” Edward said, and those words were enough, because when had Edward ever apologized? When had he ever admitted that he didn’t know something? Crow’s face twisted, and then he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. “ **I just want to be loved like him,** ” He whispered, and god these two were going to break Edward’s damn heart. He stood up and pulled Crow off of the edge, hugging him tightly, and Crow hugged back. They stood there, crying together, for a time. Crow pushed his face into Edward’s neck, hiding his tears, but his body shook with his sobs. “I do love you, Crow, I promise. I love you and Jon and Riley more than anything else in the world,” Edward whispered fiercely, and Crow sobbed harder. They sat, together, the birds sitting with them. And everything, for now, was fine.


End file.
